Overview "Grandmother" was broadcast in the autumn 2001 special edition of *Tales of the Unusual* (Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari). It was later included in the novel adaptation *Tales of the Unusual: Special Edition - Screams*. It is widely considered one of the most traumatizing episodes in the show's history. The fate of a young girl whose personality gets swapped with her bedridden grandmother... At the time of airing, viewers were simply left stunned by the unimaginable and deeply unsettling cruelty of it all, making it a masterpiece that still pops into people's minds from time to time. It starred Rumi Hiiragi, who was the woman of the hour at the time due to *Spirited Away*.
"Grandmother" Plot Summary Miho and her parents came to visit her grandmother, who was hospitalized in a hospital deep in the mountains. In a private room bed, the grandmother lay weakly with tubes running all over her body. Unable to move or speak, she just stared fixedly at the fresh greenery streaming in through the window, looking somewhat lonely. Miho's mother peered into the grandmother's face with a look of contempt, and sharply closed the window curtains, saying, "The sunlight is bad for your eyes." The grandmother's expression twisted for a moment. Leaving the girl behind, the parents moved to the back of the room and talked with the doctor. "Her condition is not recovering easily..." "She has at most..." It seemed the grandmother didn't have much time left to live. With a sad face, the girl stroked the grandmother's hair. The parents returned. "Miho, get ready to go." Disturbed by her mother's words, the girl asked, "What?! Already?" "Honestly, the medical bills alone cost a fortune. I wish she'd just hurry up and die." Taking advantage of the grandmother's inability to move, the mother spat out these heartless words. Just as the girl finished getting ready and tried to follow behind her parents, the grandmother's voice echoed directly inside the girl's head. "...!!?? Grandmother!?" To the shocked girl, the grandmother in her mind explained:
"At sunset today, my time to be picked up will come. I seem to be a burden, and I have no intention of fighting it, but there is one person I want to see before I die. My first love. I can't die in peace without knowing how he's doing. That's why I want to borrow Miho's body. I want you to swap places with me for just today. I will definitely return by sunset. I promise." The girl could not hide her surprise at the grandmother's words. Hesitant at first, the girl finally wore down under the grandmother's plea and decided to make the switch. "Miho! What are you doing?! If you don't hurry, we're leaving you behind!" The girl turned around at her mother's voice. No, that was already the grandmother. "Grandmother, it hurts, I can't breathe, help me." "I'm sorry. I'll definitely come back." Having swapped places with the girl, the grandmother left the scene looking apologetic. Returning home from the hospital, the grandmother immediately headed for the house of her first love. Peering inside the house through the fence, she saw him—completely changed, bedridden, and staring vacantly into space. Then, a daughter-in-law(?) sat down by his pillow holding a bowl of porridge. She brought piping hot porridge to his mouth, but unable to chew properly, the porridge spilled out from the corners of his mouth one after another. "Ah!! This is so annoying!! Seriously, when on earth are you going to die?!" Annoyed with him, the daughter hurled verbal abuse and simply walked away. "He was going through the same thing as me... How pitiful..." The grandmother sneaked into the house without permission, drew close to his pillow, and carefully spooned porridge into his mouth while talking to him: "It's me, [Name], do you remember?" Just then, the daughter appeared. Panicked, the grandmother tried desperately to explain, but she couldn't explain it well, and even if she did, there was no way anyone would believe her. "What the hell are you doing?! Are you out of your mind?!" The grandmother fled as the daughter threw the bowl of porridge at her.
Returning home with a complicated expression on her face, the grandmother stood stunned for a while, but when she happened to look outside, the sun had already begun to set. Remembering her promise to Miho, the grandmother panicked, dashed out, and headed toward the hospital, which took an hour by car. She finally arrived at the mountains, but took a wrong turn along the way and got lost. "I have to hurry, my granddaughter Miho is suffering." The grandmother ran up the mountain path choked with overgrown weeds and trees. Just then, a protruding branch severely cut her forehead. The grandmother squatted down on the spot. "If I just let time pass like this, maybe I won't have to die..." Such foolish thoughts crossed the grandmother's mind, but— "No! Miho still has a future! A wound like this is nothing compared to the suffering Miho is going through right now!" Changing her mind, she started running up the mountain path again. The sky was already dyed a brilliant honey color. Just as the sun was about to sink into the western sky, the grandmother somehow managed to arrive in front of the hospital. She shoved open the hospital room door with force. "Grandmother, hurry, it hurts, it hurts so much." As the girl in the grandmother's body pleaded for help, a welcoming light from the window was about to envelop her. "Miho, thank you. Now, I'll put everything back to the way it was." The grandmother ran up to Miho. A faint light enveloped the two of them. "Miho, thank you so much." The next day, the grandmother departed for heaven...
― 30 Years Later ― Miho's home, draped in traditional funeral curtains. People in formal wear bustled about actively. Miho's father had already passed away, and her mother's funeral was taking place. Amidst the chanting of sutras, Miho sat seiza-style beside the casket. The mortuary photograph showed Miho's mother. "Could this be karma? That woman too, passed away while suffering with tubes running all through her body." Miho's inner voice echoed. Casually, Miho brushed aside her hair. That scar from back then still remained on her forehead. "I'm sorry to Miho... but I still had unfinished business left. Because it's unfair, right? That woman had to suffer too. Unwanted life support, isolation in a hospital deep in the mountains. That's all things that woman did to me. It's unfair, isn't it? Just me being the only one..." Pulling her hair back down, Miho muttered to herself in her heart. "I'm sorry, Miho. But it's not unfair. I just wanted that woman to understand how I felt." Miho's grandmother stared at the mortuary photo with a sly, knowing smile. The End
Comments (-)